String of early-morning car thefts hits Abington; stolen handgun magazines, bullet-proof vest recovered, according to police

Abington Township Police are investigating a series of coordinated overnight car break-ins and vehicle thefts that struck several neighborhoods on Sept. 3, 2025, centered around the 100 York Apartments in Jenkintown, according to police. 

Police say security footage from the apartment complex showed four individuals moving through the parking lot between 4:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m., sweeping flashlights across parked cars as they searched for targets. Hours later, residents had filed seven separate reports.

The incidents at 100 York Apartments included:

• A red Nissan Rogue had its window smashed and an iPhone valued at $799 taken.
• A blue Ford Edge was found with a broken window, though nothing was stolen.
• A red Kia Forte had its rear window smashed and its steering column torn apart in what officers say was an attempted theft.
• A blue Kia Optima was stolen but later found by its owner in North Philadelphia.
• A black Dodge Durango had a laptop and wallet stolen before the laptop was discovered abandoned elsewhere on the property. The victim later reported attempted credit-card fraud.
• A blue Kia Soul showed signs of a failed theft attempt consistent with a known vulnerability in older Kia models that allows ignition with a generic USB cord once the column is exposed.

Later that morning, officers received additional reports:

• A second Dodge Durango parked at 1300 Greenwood Avenue was entered around 4:13 a.m.; a police ballistic vest and three loaded handgun magazines were stolen.

• A black Hyundai Santa Fe was reported stolen overnight from Abington Friends School on Washington Lane.

The locations sit within minutes of one another, and investigators linked the stolen Santa Fe traveling alongside two other stolen vehicles, including a Kia Forte taken earlier in Philadelphia, suggesting all three were driven by the same group.

The Santa Fe resurfaced days later in North Philadelphia. When an Abington officer went to check the area on Sept. 7, a young man approached the Santa Fe and unlocked it with a key fob before fleeing on foot.

Fingerprints recovered from the vehicle matched Jaston Mainer, 18, of Philadelphia, whose home address is only blocks from where the Santa Fe was found. Investigators later confirmed that Mainer’s cellphone was in the area of 100 York Apartments at 4:45 a.m. on Sept. 3.

Police say Mainer admitted during a phone conversation on Oct. 8 to participating in the thefts, including helping recover the stolen ballistic vest and magazines.

Mainer is facing multiple felony charges related to Theft and receiving stolen property, and Conspiracy to commit theft

Police say at least three additional suspects remain unidentified.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 14, 2026 at 11:45 am before Magisterial District Judge Juanita A. Price.

All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.